Michael Yap, a current student in the MFA Interaction Design Department, was part of a team that won “Most Innovative” at the recent two-day “Reinvent NYC.gov” hackathon. The event, which was sponsored by the city of New York, gathered Web developers and designers from all over the country (and some from Canada) and invited them to come up with ways to improve the city’s Web site, which hasn’t been redesigned in over five years.

Along with the winners of the “Best User Interface,” “Best Use of Social,” “Best Use of Location,” and “Judge’s Choice” categories, Yap’s team took home a trophy and were invited to have breakfast with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Speaking with The Village Voice, Yap said, “It’s interesting when you lock a bunch of people in a room and see what they do.”

Image: Michael Yap (second from left) and team with Mayor Michael Bloomberg (center) at “Reinvent NYC.gov.” Photo by Mason Du.